Under New York State General Municipal Law, Government agencies must follow Purchasing guidelines for the purchase of goods and services. A formal bid process is required for any single item or group of similar items totaling over $20,000 for commodities and over $35,000 for services. Formal quotations must be obtained for all purchases from $3,000 to $20,000 for commodities and from $7,500 to $35,000 for services.

For more information on rules for contract bidding and instructions for submitting an request for proposal (RFP) please refer to the Chemung County Purchasing Policy.

The Purchasing Department is committed to ensuring that all vendor’s have a fair and equal opportunity to conduct business with Chemung County. We invite vendors to register with the County on-line bidding website at www.empirestatebidsystem.com. Registering will allow vendors to obtain all County current and closed bid documents as well as any addenda, bid tabs, and awards. Chemung County advertises all bids in the legal section of the following established official newspapers for publication:

You can register for a free “search only” service, or a matching service for $90 per year which includes automatic notifications.

The Empire State Purchasing Group lists bids from over 170 municipal entities in New York State.

Please note the Empire State Purchasing Group has a toll free vendor support number (800-835-4603).

EXCEPTIONS TO PURCHASING GUIDELINES

NYS Finance Law requires municipalities to consider Preferred Source Vendors prior to making a purchase from another vendor. If a product is available and meets County needs, we are required to purchase from the Preferred Source Vendor. A Preferred Source Vendor is exempt from the formal bidding process noted above. NYS Preferred Source Vendors include: CORCRAFT, NYSID, NYS Industries for the Blind and NYS Office of Mental Health.

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